"Sev! Sev! Can you here me? Wake up!"
…I open my eyes, I am standing in a cube shaped room with no doors or windows, and the walls are constantly moving with strange patterns.
"My brother, you have arrived"
I spin around and find myself face to face with a figure who for some strange reason I recognize as myself. But he does not look anything like me, his skin is black like charcoal and his eyes glow an evil green. "Who the hell are you!" I demand.
"Why, I am you" the ghoul replies using my exact voice.
"Last time I looked I wasn't that ugly" I reply. The ghoul laughs like some kind of predator taunting its prey before finishing it.
"Why so stubborn Sev? If you weren't this would be so much easier, and so much less painful for you" The ghoul is all business now.
"What do you want?" I ask shortly, I am preparing my attack; if this creature truly is me he will know all my tricks, all my moves. I decide to return to the basics.
"Shauni, bring me Shauni and kill her host"
"What are you talking about you freak?" I ask, trying to distract this horrific mirror of myself.
"Ask her about Shauni, the pretty one. Ahh what was her name, Jade that was it, yes she is a pretty one" The ghoul taunts me.
That's it, my hand shoots to the hilt of my sword and I swing down from the sheath. My doppelganger does exatly the same and our identical swords clang in a shower of sparks. The sound echoes around the room. The doppelganger effortlessly pushes me back and I crash to the floor against a stone alter that wasn't there before. There is a body on it, Jade lies peacefully in a white an green gown with her arms folded across her chest, eyes closed. A deep sword wound I recognize mars her appearance. The wound is exactly the effect my sword has. "You bastard!" I roar.
"Yes I did this, but I am you, which means you did this" my doppelganger laughs as he blocks my furious diagonal swipe and grabs onto my hand. He twists my hand until I hear the bones snap, as my sword is slowly re-directed. My doppelganger has twisted my hand around until my own sword is pointing back at my chest. He pushes and the razor sharp blade enters through my chest. It is the worst pain I have ever felt, the blade cuts its way through my body and pushes out through my back, blood, my blood dripping from its length.
"Sev! Can you hear me, its Jade, come back now, this is not your world, follow me." Jade's voice floats through the room.
I feel new strength, just as my doppelganger moves to twist the blade I kick it I the stomach, sending the creature flying backwards. I pull my sword from my body, nearly collapsing to the renewed searing pain. I run to Jade, in her white and green gown as she turns and enters a black archway, I follow, running headlong into the darkness…
…When Sev woke up he was still staring at whiteness, but he felt warm and comfortable. He looked around through unfocused eyes as the blurry shapes around him began to become more defined. He was in a hospital, lying down o a bed surrounded by several people and a couple of basic life sign monitors for every day use. They showed his heartbeat, brainwaves, EKG and about a dozen other facts concerning his health, all showed he was fine.
"Ah you're awake" A scrawny Taurus Sapiens clad in a white lab coat and scrubs said in a surly Russian accent. "You've been out for a week or so I'm told."
"A shrah! hila ni cri?" Sev said, it was Furion 'A week! Are you sure?'
"Excuse me?" The doctor said, his name badge said he was Dr. Krysnl G.D (general Doctor).
"Speak Trade Standard Sev not everyone understand Furion" another voice said, this one with a different but still very European accent. Sev looked around, jade was in her usual clothes the white tank top, green jacket and trousers plus what looked like a brand new headband holding back her short hair. She was leaning against one of the monitoring machines, obviously trying to relax. The other around him were a nurse, Wilco, Thunderpants and Hub.
"What is this a welcome party?" Sev asked dryly.
"Yeah a welcome back to the land of the living party" Thunderpants got out before he was interrupted.
"Shutup Pants, what happened Sev?" Wilco, the dark skinned fighter squadron leader asked.
"How the hell should I know I've been unconscious for a week" Sev said.
"I can fill that part in," Jade said louder than usual to stop an argument breaking out. "The self destruct sequence at that temple was activated to prevent those Ashtons from finding anything inside. That bag Etheria was carrying held as much of the important knowledge kept there as could be carried. We were planning to leave soon, just not that soon. The temple is little more than a pile of dust at the centre of a highly radioactive zone."
"So where do I come into all of this?"
'I'll tell you in private" Jade said to Sev then to the gathered crowd "Out!"
As soon as the disgruntled crowd had left and jade had closed the curtains she continued "They were planning to move because hey knew you were coming. Shauni wouldn't allow you to find me"
"Shauni?" This was getting strange, 'She said it was nothing, clearly it isn't' Sev thought.
"Shauni is a being of pure energy who chose me as her carrier when she fled from the DomZ. It happened before I can remember but I've always been different, I can produce a shockwave of pure energy just by focusing on it. I don't have any nanite implants or anything technological that allows me to do it. Its Shauni giving me that power, without her I'd just be an ordinary human. But when the Beluga was destroyed Shauni survived, she took me with her, I had been her most successful carrier in centuries. Now we are two separate bodies, Shauni has her own physical body now and she doesn't need a carrier. But something happened while I was her carrier, we forged a link and now I can feel her presence and her thoughts. I think I may have absorbed some of her power while I was her carrier" Sev listened in silence; he had know from the moment he saw jade that she was different somehow. She had some inner fire and energy, which was what had made him fall in love with her in the first place. But this, Shauni? It was all too strange for Sev, he was a soldier, used to believing only in what he could see, touch and kill.
"I think I had some control over Shauni, she told me that I was here most powerful host, that even on my own I had superhuman abilities. Maybe sometimes I was able to take Shauni's powers and use them myself. I don't know, none of it makes much sense to me" Jade hung her head, showing just how tired she really was.
"How long has it been since you got some sleep?" Sev asked, concern leaking into his voice.
"About half a week" jade said in an offhand voice, the effect was slightly ruined by a huge yawn.
"Where are my clothes and equipment?" Sev asked.
"Check the locker" Jade answered tiredly.
Sev found the locker and pulled it out, inside were his clothes, cleaned as well as his equipment and weapons. Jade left quickly as Sev pulled on his clothes and clipped his belt and sheath back on. He walked out to find Jade and Doctor Krysnl telling the various members of the crowd that he would be fine "I'm not dead yet" Sev growled.
"We thought you were, you look good" Pants said cheerfully, it wasn't clear whether it was 'you look good for a dead guy' or not.
"Either way I've signed your discharge papers, you're free to go" The moment was ruined by a distant series of cracks, sounding like gunfire. The cracking came again, much closer to the hospital, "What, they're attacking again!" Dr. Krysnl shouted.
"Who's they doc?" Sev asked.
"Terrorists who still support the Alpha Sections" Krysnl spat in disgust while Sev arched an eyebrow in confusion.
"I though the Alpha Sections were still in power" Jade said in surprise.
"They were until you were murdered ma'am" Noting Sev still looking suspicious Krysnl continued "When Jade here was killed by the Alpha Sections the population rose up one again and in one night we drove the Alpha Sections off our planet, we killed hundreds of them." He added viciously.
"Nice, now they're really pissed, good idea" Sev commented deadpan.
"We have our freedom!" Krysnl snapped.
"Let's go meet them," Sev growled, drawing his long, katana-like sword. It was then that he noticed several things that had escaped his attention before, he had new clothes, a new green jacket and short sleeve black shirt, his trousers had survived though. He looked quizzically at Jade.
"Oh come on your old gear was falling apart, so I bought you some new clothes and I don't know when your birthday is but…" Jade summoned something from her S.A.C. it was a brand new, chrome plated 2430 Desert Eagle SE, bright and gleaming with a snakeskin holster.
"What can I say, thanks Jade" Sev said, stunned, he couldn't recall the last time he had been given something which didn't have some kind of bomb hidden in it. The gun must have cost a fortune; Desert Eagles weren't cheap plus the chrome plating and snakeskin holster. Jade must have put a pretty penny into buying it.
"Don't ask how much it cost," Jade said simply. That answered Sev's question, the answer being: a lot.
OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL
It seemed that the Alpha Section supporters just wanted to make a scene, a grand 'up yours' to the galaxy. It wasn't long before a local garrison set up a mounted machine gun and cut the crowd of gun toting fanatics as they marched on the hospital. Just a few minutes and the whole scene was over, not long after that people began to come out of their hiding places, it seemed that this sort of thing was not uncommon. People were used it crowds of fanatics being shot up by now 'Strange what people can get used too' Sev mused to himself.
Jade looked at the thirty or so bullet riddled bodies once before walking away, looking somewhat shaken by the whole event. "You alright Jade?" Sev asked once he caught up with her.
"I'm fine, I just never thought I'd see Hillyans dieing for the Alphas, after what they did to us, maybe some people think I was right. I don't know, I just want to see my family again" Even Jade herself was surprised by the torrent of emotion 'I can't be weak, not in front of Sev, or anyone' Jade shook her head and when she looked up again any trace of shakiness was gone "I'm fine Sev!" She snapped when she saw Sev was still watching her. "Look lets get a taxi home"
"Home? Jade may I remind I don't have a home" Sev said quietly, so other people on the street wouldn't hear the slightly sad tone. He almost felt okay in confiding in jade but not anyone else, he was a mercenary after all.
"You can come to our home" Jade said instantly, Sev might put up the façade of a cold, tough mercenary but to her he was just someone who just as human as the rest of the world.
"I'd like that" Sev said, still in a quiet voice…
LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND
The small yellow taxi touched down outside the lighthouse and its two occupants jumped out, one paused to pay the driver while the other ran inside. Sev glanced inside the doorway of the twice-rebuilt lighthouse at the shouts coming from the doorway; he followed them inside to find Jade on the floor under a pile of children and a massive white dog. Everyone was shouting and the dog was giving of deafening barks. Jade managed to stand up, spilling kids in every direction; she spotted Pey'j, just standing there as if to overcome to actually do anything. She leapt into her uncle's arms, laughing and crying at the same time, Sev stood in the door looking out of place.
Pey'j put Jade down and saw Sev in the door "Well two years is long enough, I suppose I could bury the hatchet" He said in his usual gravelly American accent.
"Now Pey'j, Sev saved my life, without him I would have been killed" jade chided.
"You would've…"
"Pey'j" jade said, a slight warning tone in her voice, Pey'j backed off straight away, like any man, he wasn't game to pick a fight with Jade.
Sev noticed something new; a shiny MDisk player sat in the corner of what appeared to be a living room. Carpeted floor, fireplace and a radio, plus the shiny Mdisk player that suddenly started beeping, accompanied by a small hologram appearing depicting an Earth 21st Century telephone.
"Pey'j when did you get that?" jade asked, crossing over to the beeping player.
"When the people of Hillys helped rebuild the lighthouse they gave us this" Pey'j waddled over to join Jade and hit a button.
The Hillyan governor's face appeared on the screen "Pey'j thank heavens I…My goodness Jade! I heard of someone of your likeness landing in the spaceport but is it really you?" The governor appeared understandably flustered, the people's dead heroine, alive.
"Yes governor it's me, what do you need?"
"Well I was going to ask Pey'j if he could find someone but, you don't need to hear my problems. I need someone to locate and destroy a shipment of weapons that some benefactor is bringing to Hillys to support these terrorists' the governor explained.
"What do they have at the moment, weapon-wise?" Sev cut in.
"Mostly small arms, assault rifle and machine guns, some rocket launchers and RPGs. My sources tell me that this shipment, along with small arms carries a supply of plasma weapons. With them the terrorists will be able to cause untold destruction. They hold all Hillyans responsible for the defeat of the Alpha Sections" The governor was still looking flustered and tired, Sev saw immediately that the terrorist attacks were no the small time activity that everyone seemed to want to believe it was.
"I'll do it" Sev said immediately.
"Sev…" jade started to make an argument but was cut off.
"Jade you just got back to your family, spend some time here, a pack of cargo shippers will be no match for a Furion Swordmaster" Sev said reassuringly "Relax, catch up with everyone, I'll be fine"
"Governor?"
"Yes Sev, what can I get you?"
"Some Pyrite explosives and nine beef flavour dinners-to-go…"